My Rock
by Annabel Lee 1849
Summary: When the apocalypse hit and Daryl couldn t find her, he assumed that she was dead. Little did he know that someone very dangerous had taken her. A few days after she escapes, they find each other. Daryl is furious that someone hurt her, but hides it for her sake... at least for a while. Rated for references to abuse/ rape, some language, and maybe sexual material later.
1. Chapter 1

Daryl, Glen, and Maggie were on the way back from a run to get "Lil' Asskicker" some more formula when she ran out in front of the car. Glen slammed on the brakes and Daryl had to drive on the other side of the road to avoid rear-ending him. Maggie and Glen jumped out of the car with guns raised as Daryl put the stand down on his bike. He glanced at the woman as he did this and quickly saw that she was unarmed, though she was dragging an enormous duffle bag. She looked like she`d been badly beaten, she was covered in blood, and when Daryl turned and got a good look at her, he could see her ribs through the tears in her shirt. She held her hands up and tried to say something between sobs, but was too hysterical to actually communicate anything. She clearly wasn`t a threat though, so Daryl walked over to her with his crossbow still hanging on his back. As he got closer he saw her start to tremble, and when he reached toward her, hoping to get her to calm down and stop hyperventilating, she whimpered and took several steps back. Now that he was finally face-to-face with her, he recognized her.

"Clara?"

At hearing her name, the woman seemed to snap back to reality. She stared at him for a few seconds in disbelief before asking, "Daryl?" He simply nodded, seeing her start to recognize him. Before he saw it coming, she had launched herself toward him and wrapped her arms around him. It scared him to feel how light she was. She clung to him as though her life depended on it, but he could tell that there was no strength in her embrace at all. She`d always been tiny, and probably weaker than most, but nothing like this.

Finally, Glen spoke up, "We have a save place. Come back with us. It`s not save here in the open."

Clara nodded; she released Daryl from the vice-grip like hug, but still clung to his arm tightly. She smiled at him. "Can I ride with you?"

"Hop on."

* * *

When they finally got to the prison, Clara had become much more weak. She took a couple of steps away from the bike before she collapsed. Daryl caught her and carried her inside. She seemed to weigh nothing in his arms, and he had to take a breath to keep his cool. He was terrified that she was going to die. He didn`t really understand. Sure, he understood the bruises. There`s nothing strange about being a little beat up during the apocalypse. But before all of this happened Clara would go live in the woods for weeks at a time. She`d go with just a knife and a bow, and if anything she usually came back looking healthier than when she went. She shouldn`t have gone hungry. She knew how to survive out there.

Hershel was looking at Clara while the others talked. Daryl had already decided that she was staying. No one had argued with him about it. In fact, they seemed more interested in being nosey than finding out if she was dangerous. At 5 foot nothing and literally skin and bones, she didn`t seem like a big threat. But when they snooped through the duffle bag they found something bizarre: her bow, some arrows, but mostly books.

"She carried at least fifty pounds of books with her... no food or supplies. Is she crazy or something?" Maggie asked.

Daryl shook his head, "That bow and arrows is all the supplies she needs. She knows how to live in the woods. Always loved it... The books is typical for Clara. Smartest person I ever knew. Most them science books and how-to books. She probably get more use carrying them 'stead of fifty pounds of food."

Glen shrugged. It made sense- with walkers swarming every town, a good hunter would have an easier time finding food than books.

Carol smirked at Daryl, "So how do you know her?"

Daryl looked at the floor, "She was my girlfriend. Lost her when all this started. We looked for her for a while but when I couldn`t find her I figured the walkers got her." He felt horrible now that he knew that he`d left her to deal with the apocalypse by herself. At the same time though, he was overwhelmingly happy. After he`d lost so many people, it was a nice change to get someone back.

Hershel left the cell where Clara was staying. He gestured to Daryl to come talk to him. The others respected the private conversation, even though they were all dying to know about this girl. Hershel moved away from the cell door and the others and talked to Daryl in a quiet voice, so no one else would hear.

"Walkers didn`t do this to her. Neither did being out there alone. The bruises are from someone beating her. She has marks from being whipped with a belt and some burns from cigarettes. I think she should tell you the rest when she`s ready, but she`s pretty shaken up. Might be a good idea for you to stay with her for a while, to help keep her calm. She doesn`t seem comfortable around anyone else."

"I`m gonna fuckin' kill whoever did this," Darly mumbled through gritted teeth. He kicked a couple of things that were laying around before Hershel spoke more harshly.

"The last thing that woman needs right now is more violence. You`re the only one she feels safe around at the moment - don`t scare her by acting like this."

Daryl thought about it for a moment, then nodded and headed into her cell.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey princess," Daryl said from the door of her cell. She smiled at the nickname. When he first used it it`d been an insult. After that it was mostly because it was ironic. She had gotten into an argument with Merle and said some pretty harsh things. Daryl figured, from her clothes and the college applications in her hand, that she was some spoiled brat who`d always been treated like a princess and just thought she was too good for people like Merle. He found out differently when they got teamed up to do a project together.

_"Sure your mommy and daddy want someone like me comin' over princess?" he said with a glare._

_She just rolled her eyes, "Just be at my place at six. And leave your crack at home with Merle."_

_"Fuck you bitch." Daryl had never touched drugs. He didn`t even like the way he acted when he was drinking, so he rarely did that either. But he wasn`t about to share any of that with _her_. She practically shoved the piece of paper with directions to her house at him and walked away._

_When he got there at six he was shocked to see her 'house.' It was in the middle of the woods, with no driveway or anything, and it was practically falling down. He recognized the place. Merle and his friends used to come here to get high before Merle got his own place. It was an old hunting cabin with a dirt floor, maybe two thirds of a roof remaining, the other third covered with a blue tarp, a blanket hung for a door and one over the window, which was just a cut out hole in the wall. One room, had to go to the water pump about half a mile away for water. He just stood staring in shock for a minute or two. He was expecting a nice big house with expensive cars in the driveway._

_"Like what I`ve done with the place?" she asked bitterly, knowing what he`d been expecting._

_"... are you just squatting here or something?" She just glared and didn`t answer him. She just wanted to get a good grade on this project because she was counting on a full ride to college, or else there`s no way she could afford it. "Where're your folks?"_

_"Just shut the hell up and come inside," she snapped, walking ahead of him into the cabin._

Daryl came and sat down next to her. "How ya feeling?"

"Hungry as all hell, but Hershel says I gotta start eating slowly so I don`t get sick."

He nodded, then took a breath before asking the thing that he really wanted to know. "What happened to you?"

"The apocalypse," she said simply, but he could tell by how she was looking away from him that she wasn`t being honest. She`d been a terrible liar since the day he met her, and he if weren`t so worried he would`ve smiled because that hadn`t changed.

"You know how to hunt. You wouldn`t be starving if it was just from being out in the woods. Clara, I can see your god damn ribs!" Daryl was letting his anger seep through. He saw her eyes fill with tears and thought about what Hershel said. "A'rite, we`ll talk about it later. Scoot." he motioned for her to move over on the bed before getting in with her. He hated sleeping in a cell, but he remembered how she used to have nightmares about what her adoptive father did to her whenever Daryl wasn`t in bed with her. He figured the nightmares must`ve come back after what she`d gone through.

She turned and looked up at him, "I love you," she kissed his jaw.

He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head on his chest, "Get some rest."

She smiled, he`d never said 'I love you' to her, but she knew that he did. He just wasn`t one to be so openly emotional.

* * *

When she finally woke up it was around noon the next day. Daryl was still lying next to her but was wide awake.

"You din't have to stay here all day," she mumbled, still half asleep.

Daryl just shrugged. He didn`t tell her that every time he got up, he`d hear her start to scream in her sleep. She would just tell him to go about his day and let her have nightmares. (_"They`re only dreams Daryl,"_ she used to say, _"Not like they can hurt me. This isn`t Nightmare on Elm Street."_) She never wanted to be a burden.

She smiled and sat up. Before he knew it she was kissing him, running her fingers through his hair. "I missed you so much," she whispered, "I didn`t even know if you were alive or not."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. He felt so damn guilty. "I looked for you. When I didn`t find you I figured you were dead... Where were you?"

Clara just shook her head, dismissing the question. "I`m starving. Is there any food in this place or are we going hunting?"

"No," he answered, letting her ignore his question for the time being, "We don`t have to hunt, at least not for the next couple of months. Let`s get you some lunch."


End file.
